The adjustment for regulating the stack to the piano action is located
on the wippen of the piano action.

There are two adjustments (see: regulate-stack.jpg) The stack-to-action
adjustment is the one that reduces the 'free play' between the pushrod
button and the wippen. When correctly adjusted, there should be a scant
1/16" of free play between the adjuster button on the wippen and the
pushrod button on the stack.

To make this adjustment, you must fold the upper half of the 'upper
section' out of the way. (It's for this reason that the trackerbar should have
been tubed up to the stack with the action folded over.)

It is almost impossible to "see" the 1/16" space between the two buttons
because of their location. To make the job easier, I always remove the
Stop Rail.

(see attachments above) Once it's out of the way, should first examine
all of the piano hammers. If any of them are not resting on the hammer
rail, (see below)

adjust those notes first by turning the adjuster button counter clock wise.
Once the hammer comes to rest on the hammer rail, turn the adjuster button
one additional 1/2 turn counter clock wise. That extra 1/2 turn will create the
correct spacing between the pushrod button and the adjuster button. Next,
starting with note #1, start turning the adjuster button clock wise until the
piano hammer starts to move off of the hammer rail. Then do as I just
explained above.

BTW, this adjustment is also commonly referred to as the lost motion
adjustment for the stack because you're removing the free play, or lost
motion, between the two buttons. However, it's important to remember
that there must be a slight amount (1/16") of free play between the two
buttons. (I won't explain why it's necessary, but it is!)

After the lost motion adjustments are finished, play a 3-5 note chord on the
piano by hand. When you play the chord, keep the keys depressed. In other
words, 'play-and-hold' the chord so the notes continue to ring on after the
hammers have hit the strings. While keeping the piano keys depressed,
look carefully at the position of the hammers in relationship to the piano
strings. If the piano action is correctly regulated, the hammers should be
approximately 1" to 1-1/4" from the strings. Put another way, they should
be approximately 1/2" from the hammer rail.

Now, here's the concept that you must understand before making the stop
adjustment. Just as the piano keys push the wippens upwards to get the
notes to play, the pushrod buttons push the wippens upwards to get the
notes to play. In other words, the note bellows (and their associated rods
and buttons) push the wippens upwards just like the piano keys. So, in a
perfect world, the goal of adjusting the stop adjustment is to get the bellows
to push the wippens upwards the same distance that the keys do. Also, this
explains why it's important to have a 'feel' for where the hammers "stop"
when the notes are played by hand. Here again, the goal is to have the
action of the bellows replicate the action of the piano keys.

(Side note: referring to the picture 'stop-adjustment-screws.jpg', take note
of the fact that the position of the buttons on your rail seem to be all over
the place. In a well regulated piano, those buttons should look like a line
of skilled wooden soldiers. In other words, they should all be in the same
position. So, it's my recommendation that before you start doing anything
with the stop rail, make a determination as to what you believe is the
average position of all of the buttons, and 'pre-adjust' them to that position.
I find that the easiest way to do that is with a yardstick. By laying the stick
on the buttons you can easily see which ones are higher (or lower) than
the rest. Start by adjusting those ones until they are more in line with the
average.)

Now you can put the stop rail back in place. BUT, understand that the stop
rail can be adjusted in two ways. The first way is what can be called a "bulk"
adjustment. Typically, there are three or four screws that hold the stop rail
in place. The stop rail is mounted on supports, and as you can see in the
picture (stop-rail-supports.jpg),

the rail can be secured to the supports
anywhere from the bottom of the slot (in the support) to near the top of the
slot. Getting the rail in the correct position before you start making individual
adjustments to each button can save you hours of work.

The easiest way to make the bulk adjustment is to look very carefully at the
supports for evidence of the previous location of the mounting screws. Most
often, there will be what I can a shadow or marks on the metal which indicate
where the screws where previously. Here you need to understand that when
the piano was built, the people who put everything together had many years
of experience. So, they knew the best general location to place the rail before
making the fine adjustments. Ergo, it's called a 'bulk' adjustment. But, if by
chance there aren't any tell-tale marks, there's another option.

Put the rail in place but do not tighten the screws. In fact, make sure the screws
are loose enough that the rail can move up and down freely. Next, play a full
chord on the piano as explained previously. Since the rail can move freely, the
action of playing and holding the chord will automatically position the stop rail
at it's optimum location. You will need to repeat the above in the bass and treble
registers. If you can have someone else play large chords in the bass and treble
simultaneously, that will free you to tighten the screws while the piano keys are
being played and held down.

Once the bulk adjustment is completed, you can begin making the individual
adjustments. In the Lauter, this is more difficult that in other players because
the only thing that contacts the wippen (to activate the piano note) is the
pushrod button. So, what you have to do is physically lift each pushrod button
up with some sort of a tool (like a screwdriver) and verify that there is sufficient
travel for the piano hammer to strike the strings and return to a resting point
that matches the point where the hammer stops when the note is played by
hand (with the piano keys). Your goal is to duplicate that 'stopping point'.

This page was last revised
October 28, 2015 by John A. Tuttle, who Assumes No
LiabilityFor The Accuracy or Validity of the Statements and/or Opinions
Expressed within the Pages of the Player-Care Domain. Cartoon Graphics by E7 Style Graphics (Eric Styles)

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